Abstract:

A mobile computer that can be borne in a vehicle and that can receive
position information may adjust a maximum speed limit to account for
unfavorable weather or road conditions and cause the vehicle to
automatically reduce speed below the adjusted maximum limit.

Claims:

1. A mobile computer that can be borne in a vehicle and that:is configured
to receive position information; andis configured to communicate a speed
limit associated with the position information and adjusted to account
for road conditions to cause a vehicle to automatically reduce speed
below an adjusted maximum limit.

2. The computer of claim 1, wherein the mobile computer is configured to
access a database of speed limits.

3. The computer of claim 1, wherein the mobile computer is configured to
communicate with a sender of road conditions to receive the road
conditions therefrom.

4. The computer of claim 3, wherein the computer is configured to apply
rules to the road condition and output an adjusted speed limit associated
with the position information.

5. The computer of claim 1, wherein the computer is configured to receive
from a base station a speed limit adjusted for road conditions.

7. A tangible computer storage medium readable by a processor
to:automatically limit a vehicle maximum speed in response to an upper
speed limit modified by application of rules relating to road conditions
such that the vehicle may travel at any speed up to but not exceeding the
upper speed limit.

8. The medium of claim 7, wherein the medium is executable by the
processor to:receive geographic position information, the road conditions
being associated with the geographic position information.

9. The medium of claim 7, wherein the medium is executable by the
processor to access a database of speed limits.

10. The medium of claim 7, wherein the medium is executable by the
processor to communicate with a sender of road conditions to receive the
road conditions therefrom.

11. The medium of claim 10, wherein the medium is executable by the
processor to apply rules to the road condition and output an adjusted
speed limit associated with the position information.

12. The medium of claim 7, wherein the medium is executable by the
processor to receive from a base station a speed limit adjusted for road
conditions.

13. A method comprising:receiving a geographic position;accessing a
database of speed limits to determine a nominal speed limit associated
with the geographic information; andaccessing current road condition
information for the speed limit; andif the current road condition
information warrants, adjusting down the speed limit to render a modified
speed limit.

[0002]Electronic roadside signs have been provided to post speed limits.
Because the signs can be controlled by a remote facility, the posted
speed limits may be easily changed. However, as understood herein these
signs are relatively large and require significant infrastructure and
cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003]A mobile computer that can be borne in a vehicle is configured to
receive position information. The computer is also configured to
communicate a speed limit associated with the position information and
adjusted to account for road conditions to cause a vehicle to
automatically reduce speed below an adjusted maximum limit.

[0004]The mobile computer may be configured to access a database of speed
limits. It may further be configured to communicate with a sender of road
conditions to receive the road conditions therefrom. The computer can be
configured to apply rules to the road condition and to output an adjusted
speed limit associated with the position information.

[0005]Alternatively, the computer can be configured to receive from a base
station a speed limit adjusted for road conditions. To this end, an
advanced televisions systems committee (ATSC) tuner can be provided in
the computer.

[0006]In another aspect, a tangible computer storage medium is readable by
a processor to automatically limit a vehicle maximum speed in response to
an upper speed limit modified by application of rules relating to road
conditions such that the vehicle may travel at any speed up to but not
exceeding the upper speed limit.

[0007]In still another aspect, a method includes receiving a geographic
position and accessing a database of speed limits to determine a nominal
speed limit associated with the geographic information. The method also
includes accessing current road condition information for the speed
limit. If the current road condition information warrants, the method
adjusts down the speed limit to render a modified speed limit.

[0008]The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and
operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in
which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a non-limiting system in accordance
with present principles; and

[0010]FIG. 2 is a flow chart of non-limiting logic which may be undertaken
by one or more processors executing code elements stored on one or more
computer readable media.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0011]Referring initially to FIG. 1, a mobile computer is shown, generally
designated 10, that includes a processor 12 and tangible digital storage
medium 14 that may be, without limitation, a magnetic or optical disk
drive, a solid state device such as random access memory or read-only
memory or flash memory, a removable stick medium or removable floppy
disk, etc. The medium 14 and processor 12 may be stored in a computer
housing 16 as shown along with a display 18 such as but not limited to a
high definition (HD) matrix display or a standard definition cathode ray
tube display. The processor 12 may output signals to the display 18 and
to one or more audio speakers 20, and it may receive input from an input
device 22 such as one or more of a keypad, keyboard, mouse, etc.

[0012]As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments the mobile computer 10 can
also include a position receiver 24 such as a global positioning
satellite (GPS) receiver that inputs position signals to the processor
12. Some embodiments of the mobile computer 10 may further include a
unidirectional receiver 26 such as but not limited to an advanced
televisions systems committee (ATSC) tuner. The processor 12 can cause
signals from the receiver 26 to bc presented on the display 18. In the
embodiment shown, the ATSC receiver 26 can also receive non-video data
for purposes to be shortly disclosed.

[0013]In the non-limiting implementation shown in FIG. 1, the mobile
computer 10 additionally includes a long-range wireless transceiver 28
such as a WiFi transceiver, WIMAX transceiver, or telephone transceiver
such as a global system for mobile communication (GSM) transceiver, code
division multiple access (CDMA) transceiver or variant, etc. The
transceiver 28 communicates with the processor 12.

[0014]In some embodiments, the mobile computer 10 can further include a
Bluetooth transceiver 30 or other short-range interface useful for
communicating with a complementarily configured receiver interface 32 of
a vehicle 34. In this way, signals may be sent from the mobile computer
10 to an engine control module (ECM) 36 or other computer in the vehicle
34. The ECM 36 typically receives signals from, among other things, a
speed sensor 38 onboard the vehicle 34 for control of, e.g., an engine
throttle 40 of the vehicle 34 in a cruise control mode.

[0015]The mobile computer 10 can receive information via one or more of
the receiver 26 and transceiver 28 from one or more wireless base
stations 42, each of which typically has a communication interface 44,
processor 46, and computer readable medium 48.

[0016]FIG. 2 shows logic in accordance with present principles that may be
executed by one or more of the processors above accessing
computer-readable instructions on one or more of the above-described
computer readable media. Commencing at block 50, information pertaining
to the current geographic position of the mobile device 10 (and, hence,
any vehicle 34 in which it happens to be disposed) is received by the
position receiver 24. In some embodiments the receiver 24 may be mounted
directly in the vehicle and not on the mobile device 10, in which case
the position can be sent from the ECM 36 to the processor 12 of the
mobile device 10 using, e.g., the Bluetooth transceiver 30.

[0017]At block 52, a speed limit database is accessed to determine the
published speed limit for the current position received at block 50. The
processor 12 may access the medium 14 within the mobile device 10 for
this purpose, or the base station processor 46 may access the database as
it may be stored on, e.g., the medium 48 in the base station 42. The base
station 42 may then send the relevant speed limit (i.e., the speed limit
for the current position) to the mobile device 10.

[0018]Proceeding to block 54, current road condition information
(including weather information, which affects road condition) is
accessed. For this purpose, the base station 42 may send road condition
information to the mobile device 10 via, e.g., the tuner 26 or the long
range transceiver 28, or the subsequent logic at block 56 may be executed
internally at the base station 42. In any case, the road condition
information may be accessed from, e.g. a state road condition information
server on the Internet or a National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) weather information site or other appropriate
source.

[0019]At block 56, the published ("nominal") speed limit can be adjusted
in accordance with the road condition information received at block 54.
Typically, the published maximum limit is reduced for less than optimum
road conditions; it is never increased. The rules for adjusting the speed
limit may be universal or the rules may differ for each road or group of
roads. The rules may be statistic-based or empirical.

[0020]By way of non-limiting example, a published speed limit of 65 mph
may be reduced by 10 mph any time rain is indicated at block 54 for any
and all roads having posted speed limits of 65. Or, the limit may be
reduced by 5 mph for one road and 10 mph for another, different road when
rain is indicated. Freezing rain mat result in greater reduction in speed
limit.

[0021]Yet again, if statistics on one road indicate that most accidents
occur in the rain at speeds in excess of 50 mph, while statistics on
another road indicate that most accidents occur in the rain at speeds in
excess of 40 mph, the speed limit for the first road may adjusted down to
45 mph while the speed limit for the second road may be adjusted down to
35 mph.

[0022]As further non-limiting examples, if road conditions indicate a
single lane closure in the vicinity, a 10 mph reduction in speed limit
may be effected, whereas a two lane closure may result in a 20 mph
reduction. Statistics may be used in establishing these reduction
amounts, e.g., if statistics show that on a 65 mph highway, a single lane
closure leads to a spike in accidents at average speeds of 55 mph and
greater, the speed limit may be adjusted down to 50 mph (i.e., reduced by
15 mph from the otherwise "nominal" limit) for single lane closures on
that road. As mentioned above, such a rule may be universally applied or
applied on a road by road basis.

[0023]The logic at block 56 may be executed by the mobile device 10, in
which case the processor 12 receives the road condition information at
block 54 from, e.g., a base station 42. Or, the logic at block 56 may be
executed by the base station 42 and then the adjusted speed limit sent to
the mobile device 10 using the above-described transmission paths.

[0024]At block 58, the adjusted limit is presented on the display
18/speakers 20. In this way, no large roadside signage is required, and
the speed limit may be dynamically changed and presented to the driver.
Further, not only may a government agency change the published, "nominal"
speed limit directly, but present principles envision an automatic
reduction in the speed limit presented to the driver based on less than
optimum road conditions.

[0025]Also at block 58, the speed of the vehicle 34 may be automatically
reduced to be no greater than the adjusted speed limit. To this end, the
mobile device processor 12 may communicate the adjusted speed limit to
the ECM 36 using, e.g., the Bluetooth transceiver 30, with the ECM then
controlling the throttle 40 to ensure that the speed of the vehicle as
indicated by the speed sensor 38 does not exceed the speed limit as
adjusted for road conditions at block 56.

[0026]While the particular AUTOMATIC SPEED LIMIT ADJUST FOR ROAD
CONDITIONS is herein shown and described in detail, it is to be
understood that the subject matter which is encompassed by the present
invention is limited only by the claims.